Andhra tops COPTA prosecution table

Andhra Pradesh, the volume leader in flue-cured tobacco production in India, is also the top state in prosecutions relating to violations of anti-tobacco laws.

According to an Indian Television report, between April 2012 and September 2013, 71,705 people were prosecuted in Andhra and fined INR5,283,948 for having broken the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (COTPA).

Of the 21 states for which data was available, six had not reported any prosecutions for COTPA violations during the period in question, and only four states had exceeded the “prosecution challenge” of more than 10,000 persons.

In Tamil Nadu, 26,081 persons were prosecuted and fines of INR2,773,750 were levied; Karnataka, the second most important state for volume flue-cured tobacco production, recorded 19,030 prosecutions and fines of INR1,958,724; and Rajasthan prosecuted 12,891 people, who were fined INR1,351,314.

Based upon a request by the Health & Family Welfare Ministry, the then home secretary in May this year advised the director generals of police in states and union territories to incorporate COTPA as one of the agenda items in the monthly crime review meetings at district level.